Brand New Is Overrated!
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 Our son Will's friend, John, parked his bike on the lawn in
front of the barn. After a jaw drop and
a double take, the wayback machine took me to 1962 and memories of my first
bike.
It was an identical black Schwinn
with the same saddleback black and white seat with the trademark "S" on it. Had it traveled forward in time?
Will and John, both 21, ride Schwinn bikes older than they
are. They like the nostalgia and the quality
of the bikes. The Schwinn brand, once famous for quality, low maintenance and
longevity, unfortunately lost the market battle with less expensive and lower
quality imported throw-away bikes many years ago.
It's no secret that the consumer culture embraces NEW as a
status statement. I'm as fond of shiny
paint or the smell of a new car as much as anyone else. But I've found everything I ever bought new
became "used" after just a day at work. And when you think about it, everybody in business has no new equipment, just
used equipment.
I got to thinking about how horse business owners are duped into thinking new is always better
than used. Don't get me wrong, it's almost always a given to buy certain items
like computers, software, cell phones new. Technology advances so quickly, you need the benefit of the latest.
But, the horse business and many other businesses aren't
technology driven and older used equipment works as well as new equipment for half the price.
If money is no object to you, or huge monthly
payments don't upset you, keep buying new. The manufacturers need you and you needn't read any further.
If you're interested in saving your cash for other things,
consider the used market for:
· Horse trailers
· Tractors
· Pick up trucks
· Manure spreaders
· Wagons
· Post hole diggers, grader blades, discs, harrows,
bush hogs, mowing equipment, hay elevators
In many cases, older equipment, just like the Schwinn
bicycle, is more rugged and dependable than the newer equipment.
But, good used equipment is too hard to find you may argue. And I would agree ten years ago. But now, with e-bay, Craig's List and dozens
of used equipment bulletin boards and sites, there is no
excuse for you not to do an electronic search.
Granted, it may take a while to find the right one, but in
the interest of saving thousands of dollars, you can afford to put some
research time into it.
And if your "new" used equipment needs to be shiny or the
right color, new paint (stay away from the used stuff) is less than $25.00 per
gallon.
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| Others Have Said |
"The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller not one."--Ben Franklin
"You can't find what you're not looking for"--Captain Obvious "The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger
is its engine."--John Howard
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Equine Genie Horse Management Software
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| Back At The Barn
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 Last week's Tuesday Morning Gallop about Abby Sunderland's attempt to sail around the world and the subject of taking risk triggered many e-mail responses from readers.
Measuring risk is highly personal and there is no formula that fits everyone. Most readers agreed that accepting reasonable risk was unavoidable in the pursuit of business progress.
I've been thinking about how society has changed its view of risk since the days I was riding my Schwinn, bare- headed.
A safety conscious society has added to my life: helmets and miscellaneous safety devices for just about all sports, seat belts, air bags, panic buttons, kill switches and countless face guards, mouth guards and body armor.
All good stuff in my opinion, but it seems to me that the best approach for risk reduction is a focused mind.
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I help professional horsemen and horsewomen struggling with the business half of the horse business.
Not enough time, not enough money or not enough of the right people working for you?
Is your horse boarding business unprofitable?
Contact me to see if I can help.
Until next time,
Doug Emerson
Profitable Horseman  |
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